No Choice But This
by simply-aly
Summary: "You once told me you would not make the mistake of falling for another Petrova...but you lied, didn't you."


Elijah has no trouble believing Elena loves Stefan Salvatore. She looks at him like he puts the stars in the sky, and when she says 'I love you,' he hears the truth in her steady heartbeat.

He knows it will never last, though, because she has decided she doesn't want to become a vampire, and Stefan's too nice to turn her against her will.

Elijah visits her one night after the funerals he watched from a distance. Alaric is downstairs and Jeremy is in his bedroom sleeping. She's alone and writing in her diary.

She doesn't smile when he appears, but she allows him to explain. It hurts that she doesn't forgive him for breaking his word, but he makes her a promise that night and vows to himself that he will keep it even if it kills him.

He is gone five and a half years.

-x-

Upon his return, Stefan is nowhere in sight, and he finds Elena Gilbert in the Grill conversing intimately with Damon Salvatore.

He sits beside her, ignoring Damon's glare from across the table, and says only two words. "It's done."

She sighs in relief and says only two words back. "Thank you."

Elijah cannot help the way he looks at her, for he decides that hearing her voice is as close as he'll ever come to hearing that of an angel. And the way her eyes lose that hesitance makes him relax. She's free at last, and he could not be happier.

Damon notices the way he looks at Elena, however, and the way Damon looks at him tells Elijah all he needs to know.

There's something that goes way beyond fiercely protective in Damon's eyes, and Elijah doesn't need any more proof to know that Damon Salvatore loves her with all that he is, and he can see the same love and protectiveness reflected in Elena's eyes.

Elena's still human when he leaves Mystic Falls, and she still believes she doesn't want to be a vampire. Is only regret, as he boards the first flight to Russia, is that she has yet to look at him with those emotions in her eyes.

-x-

Four years later, he runs into Elena and the once-young werewolf on a trip through Mexico to see the Aztec ruins.

"He knows the curse was false, correct?" Elijah asks her when he talks her into dinner alone with him one night.

Elena nods and takes another sip of her wine. "When Tyler was in Florida, he spent a lot of time researching the Aztecs and their culture and got really interested in it all. He wanted to visit the ruins in person and invited me along."

Elijah doesn't ask how close they are, but she sees the charm bracelet she's wearing, and notices the heart with the 'T' engraved on it next to a werewolf charm. He is always one for details, and he can't possibly miss the smile on her face whenever she says his name. This decision, he understands completely, because he used to avoid issues once upon a time as well.

Elena may not want to become a vampire, but she cannot seem to stay away from all things supernatural.

When he leaves that night, dropping her off in front of her and Tyler's hotel room, he hands her a slip of paper. "For when you change your mind," he tells her in explanation.

-x-

It takes her nearly ten years, but finally, she does come to him.

She is thirty five and more beautiful than he could have imagined, but her eyes lack the adoration and joy he has always seen in them.

"You've changed your mind?" he asks, already knowing the answer, but wanting the explanation.

"I'm tired of hurting everyone, and I don't think Damon or Stefan…or even Tyler would survive if something ever happened to me. This is the only way," she says, slowly bringing her eyes to meet his. "And now that I'm older, I don't feel so guilty when I look at you."

He wants to ask why she would feel guilty, but doesn't need to speak the words when her eyes say all that he'd ever hoped to see within them.

He admires her honesty, even as she stands vulnerably at his doorstep. "Come in, Elena," he says softly as he steps aside.

Elena sighs in relief. "You once told me you would not make the mistake of falling for another Petrova…but you lied, didn't you."

He hears the note of hope lost somewhere within the insecurities and nervousness and he resists the urge to smile. "Falling for you was never a mistake."

Her eyes are shining brightly now, but she is fighting back tears as well. "Why did you never say anything?" she asks indignantly. "How were you able to just let me be with _them_ and not say a damn thing?"

"I had to let you make the choice yourself; I didn't want you to regret it once it was too late," he answers honestly.

"But what if I had asked Stefan or Damon…what if I had fallen for Tyler?"

Elijah looks at her, more serious that he ever was with her before. "If you had fallen for Tyler, I would have let you alone to live your human life to it's end, but had you stayed with either Stefan or Damon, I would have always been close by." He caresses her cheek. "The choice may have been yours to make, but I always knew it would be us—I just had to wait for you to see it."


End file.
